Sunday, 15 August 2010

Mazda injection molding process uses supercritical fluids

Mazda Motor Corp. (Hiroshima, Japan) announced on Sept. 9 2008 that it has developed a new plastic injection molding technology with supercritical fluid technologies that enables a substantial reduction in the weight of plastic parts used in vehicles.

This molding technique cuts the consumption of plastic resins that are used as raw material by approximately 20 to 30 percent, with associated reductions in vehicle weight.The most common manufacturing method for producing automobile plastic parts is injection molding.

Mazda’s improved injection molding process involves mixing supercritical fluid (SCF) made from common inert gases such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide, with the plastic resin raw material. The process uses a particular characteristic of SCF to mix readily with other substances at the molecular level to raise the fluidity of the liquid plastic resin and cause it to expand rapidly when injected into a mold. As a result, smaller amounts of the raw material resin are needed to fill molds.

Furthermore, by using a core-back expansion molding process – which enables thicker parts to be manufactured using less plastic raw material – Mazda has successfully developed parts with a multilayer structure. The bubbles in the outer layer of the plastic are kept microscopic to ensure each part has the necessary strength and rigidity, while the size of the bubbles in the core layer can be freely adjusted to reduce its density as desired.With this proprietary technology, substantially less material is needed to manufacture plastic parts that are lighter and have equal or greater strength and rigidity characteristics compared to conventional, non-foamed parts. This plastic foam molding technology can potentially be applied to nearly all plastic parts used in vehicles. Because the core back molding process enables control of the foam’s structure, it is possible to add extra value by enhancing the heat insulation and acoustic characteristics of plastic parts.

Mazda says conventional plastic foaming methods use a gas formed through the thermal decomposition of organic and inorganic compounds. However, through the use of SCFs, Mazda’s foamed resin molding technology does not result in adverse effects from residual chemical compounds, has a smaller impact on the environment, and produces parts that can be easily recycled.
Mazda intends to adopt this technology for plastic parts on their next generation platforms that will be introduced from 2011. It will be used to accelerate their weight reduction initiatives.http://www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/env/engine/mold.html